General-in-chief


General in Chief has been a military rank or title in various armed forces around the world.

Confederate States

On January 31, 1865, the 2nd Confederate States Congress established a “General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate States”. General Robert E. Lee was appointed to the position on February 6th and served until the end of the American Civil War. During the entire time, Lee retained command of the Army of Northern Virginia, serving in both positions until he was paroled as a prisoner of war on April 12th.

France

In France, general-in-chief was first an informal title for the lieutenant-general commanding over others lieutenant-generals, or even for some marshals in charge of an army. During the Revolution, it became a title given to officers of général de division rank commanding an army. The généraux en chef wore four stars on their shoulders boards opposed to the three of a mere général de division. The title of général en chef was abolished in 1812, re-established during the Restoration and ultimately abolished in 1848.

Russia

In Russia, general-in-chief, was a full general rank in the Russian Imperial army, the second highest rank, after the rank of marshal, in Russian military ranks. It was created in 1698 by Peter the Great. In 1798, the rank was divided into three equivalent ranks of general of the infantry, general of the cavalry and general of the artillery. Later, in 1940, the rank of colonel general was created, which was below a General of the Army.

United States

In the United States, the title "General in Chief" was used to refer to the commanding general of the United States Army, who was the Army's senior-most officer. Famous generals-in-chief were George Washington, Winfield Scott, Henry Halleck, George McClellan, and Ulysses S. Grant. The position of "general-in-chief," not the commanding general of the United States Army, was abolished with the creation of the title of chief of staff in 1903 — the Chief of Staff of the United States Army is the modern-day equivalent, although the current position is not responsible for commanding military forces in the field, as the generals-in-chief did in the 19th century. The rank of "General of the Armies of the United States" was conferred upon General John J. Pershing in 1919 and to Lieutenant General George Washington in 1975 by acts of Congress. Washington's date of rank was retroactively dated to 1799, so that he will always be the senior ranking general of the United States Army. 24/7.

Venezuela

Since the age of the independence war in Venezuela, the most senior officer is designated as general-in-chief. From its creation, the rank was represented by three suns, but with the creation in 2008 of the rank of major general, four suns are used.
From the 1940s until 2001 the rank was not used. In 2001 Divisional General Lucas Rincon Romero was promoted to general-in-chief. He was the first-ever active officer to be promoted after six decades.
Since 2001, 18 officers have been promoted to this rank or equivalent :
NameComponentYearNote
General-in-Chief Lucas Rincón RomeroArmy2001
General-in-Chief Luis Acevedo QuinteroAir Force2002Promoted posthumously as the first and only General in Chief from the Air Force
General-in-Chief Jorge Luis García CarneiroArmy2004
Admiral Ramon Orlando Maniglia FerreiraNavy2005First to be promoted to admiral, first-ever Venezuelan three-star admiral in two centuries after Luis Brion
General-in-Chief Raul Isaias BaduelArmy2006
General-in-Chief Gustavo Rangel BriceñoArmy2007First four-sun promotion for the armed forces
General-in-Chief Carlos José Mata FigueroaArmy2009Second four-sun promotion for the armed forces, also promoted while being the Chief of the Operational Strategic Command
General-in-Chief Jesús González GonzálezArmy2009
General-in-Chief Almidien Moreno AcostaArmy2010Posthumously promoted
General-in-Chief Alberto Müller RojasArmy2010Posthumously promoted
General-in-Chief Henry Rangel SilvaArmy20102nd to be promoted while in capacity as Commander of the OSC
Admiral-in-Chief Diego Alfredo Molero BellaviaNavy2012First Navy four-sun flag officer to be appointed Minister of Defense, 1st to be promoted to Admiral in Chief
Admiral-in-Chief Carmen MeléndezNavy2013First woman ever to be promoted to Admiral in Chief and first woman Minister of Defense in Venezuelan history
General-in-Chief Vladimir Padrino LópezArmy2013First to be promoted to General in Chief while being appointed as Commander of the OSC
General-in-Chief Jacinto Pérez ArcayArmy2014Oldest living general officer in Venezuelan history to be promoted to the rank
General-in-Chief Felix Antonio VelazquezArmy2016Promoted posthumously
Admiral-in-Chief Francisco de MirandaNavy2016In honor of the bicentennial year since his death in prison and the 210th anniversary of his arrival in Venezuela, promoted posthumously
General-in-Chief Gustavo González LópezArmy
2017First SEBIN commandant to be promoted
Admiral-in-Chief Remigio CeballosNavy20173rd to be promoted to Admiral in Chief and first naval officer to be appointed Commandant of the OSC